It was not only the wild men of New Guinea who loved Mr. Chalmers. Wherever he went he drew out all that was finest in men and women, and made them better and gladder because he was there.
When he and his wife reached Motu-motu the sea was very rough and they could scarcely land. But they were so eager to be amongst their friends there again, that they would not wait for calm. The little landing-boat lay alongside, but far down below the deck, and she danced on the waves like a cork. It was too wild to think of a ladder, so Mrs. Chalmers called out:
“Stand ready to catch hold of me, boys, and when she rises again, I’ll spring.”
Her husband said:
“That’s the only way; but I fear you won’t do it in time.”
But before he had finished speaking Tamate Vaine found herself safely in the boat, not very sure how she had got there, but glad to be one step nearer home.
What a greeting met them. Every one was at the water’s edge to welcome them home. The houseboys came as far out as they could on a bank of sand and ran alongside as the boat came in, and the dogs plashed into the water in their delight.
CHAPTER IX
THE CHARMS OF AVEO
BY this time Tamate and Tamate Vaine had friends in hundreds of homes in New Guinea. The teachers from Rarotonga had grown into strong, good men and women. Their love for Tamate was like the love of children to a father. The little girls and boys at the village schools rushed to welcome the great white chief and his wife, and shrieked with laughter when they tried to speak the strange words of new tribes.